{"id":370920,"date":"2026-08-14T01:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T01:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/370920\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T01:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T01:48:09","slug":"spirit-airlines-job-loss-former-staff-face-tough-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/370920\/","title":{"rendered":"Spirit Airlines job loss: Former staff face tough market"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 It\u2019s been over three months since Spirit Airlines signature yellow planes made their final flight from Orlando International Airport. When the company suddenly shut down in May, more than four thousand people lost their jobs in Florida, including 1600 workers in and around Orlando International Airport.<\/p>\n

The three months since have been turbulent for many former Spirit employees, even as the aviation industry itself continues to see growth. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we lost our jobs, it didn\u2019t only feel like we were mourning it for ourselves, but it felt like we were mourning for each other as well,\u201d said Chris Bell, who had worked as a flight attendant with Spirit Airlines for 8 years.<\/p>\n

In the three months since, Bell has found work at a local assisted living facility as he continues to hunt for another flight attendant role. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am going to be a flight attendant again. I don\u2019t question that. But it was very hard to lose that overnight,\u201d said Bell, \u201cIt\u2019s very competitive to get into an airline.\u201d <\/p>\n

Bell told Channel 9 that since the airline shut down, he\u2019s submitted 6 applications for flight attendant roles, two of which are still pending.<\/p>\n

The role itself is notoriously desirable. <\/p>\n

American Airlines says they receive upwards of 130,000 flight attendant applications per year. For every 125 candidates that apply, only two are selected. The 1.6 percent acceptance rate is more selective than all eight Ivy League schools.<\/p>\n

Still, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Professor Dr. Bijan Vasigh says United States passenger traffic is growing by about three to four percent per year. <\/p>\n

It bodes well for the industry\u2019s long-term outlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf those employees of Spirit Airlines have mobility, they could be hired by other airlines. Maybe not in Florida, not in Miami. But the fact is that those jobs are not absolutely gone,\u201d said Vasigh.<\/p>\n

This year, the International Air Transport Association forecasted a 4.9 percent year-over-year growth in passenger traffic, led by the Asia Pacific region. <\/p>\n

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>, employment of flight attendants is projected to grow 9 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations. <\/p>\n

\u201cOther airlines are trying to fill a void. The number of passengers is not going down. The number of passengers is increasing,\u201d said Vasigh. <\/p>\n

For former Spirit Flight attendant Chris Bell, he likes to think of this moment as \u201ctemporary turbulence.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cJust because we\u2019re in this dark cloud doesn\u2019t mean that there\u2019s not light at the end of it,\u201d said Bell. <\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

TOP STORIES FROM WFTV CHANNEL 9<\/p>\n

\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 It\u2019s been over three months since Spirit Airlines signature yellow planes made their final flight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[150004,147,145,4668,150003,28,139,141,3847,140,19324,144,146],"class_list":["post-370920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-aviation-industry-growth","tag-central-florida","tag-channel-9","tag-chris-bell","tag-flight-attendant-job-market","tag-florida","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-international-airport","tag-orlando-news","tag-spirit-airlines","tag-wftv","tag-wftv-channel-9"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}